U.S. Colored Troops and the Battle of Forks Road

Long forgotten by history, the Battle of Forks Road was the last domino to fall before Wilmington was captured by Union forces in the final year of the Civil War. But even more than its military significance, it was a key theater of war for the United States Colored Troops. Across 175 regiments, t…

Ellerbrock and Boss: Faithful Unto Death

They were inseparable in life and they were inseparable in death. Whoever said a dog is man's best friend would have certainly smiled at the bond between Capt. William Ellerbrock and his dog, Boss, both of whom lived in Wilmington in the late 1800s. The pair would become the lone victims of a vic…

Black Thursday: The Exodus of Atlantic Coast Line Railroad

Black Thursday: Dec. 15, 1955. To shock of Wilmington, the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad announced it would be ending its century-long relationship with the city, where it operated its headquarters in 1900, and moving to a new city. It was a devastating day that provided a harsh period to a massiv…

The World's Largest Living Christmas Tree

For more than 80 years, Wilmington had the ultimate icon of the holidays right in its backyard. The World's Largest Living Christmas attracted tens of thousands of visitors every year to marvel at its height and outstretching branches, draped in lights and ornaments galore. The tree was centerpie…

Unearthing 1898, Part 3: The Aftermath

On the morning of Nov. 11, 1898, Wilmington was a city in shock. The day prior, chaos reigned on the streets when a mob of armed white supremacists unleashed intimidation, threats and gunfire on the Black residents of Wilmington. In the third episode of "Unearthing 1898," host Hunter Ingram and g…

Unearthing 1898, Part 2: The Massacre

On the morning of Nov. 10, 1898, hell jolted loose in Wilmington, as it was later described. Chaos filled the streets as a mob of armed white men swept across the city, burning The Daily Record  In the second episode of "Unearthing 1898," host Hunter Ingram and guests look at Wilmington on Nov. 1…

Unearthing 1898, Part 1: The Campaign

On the morning of Nov. 10, 1898, Wilmington awoke to violence in the streets. A white supremacist mob had started the morning by marching through the city, burning a Black-run newspaper and eventually killing Black citizens in the streets before overthrowing the local government. But to understan…

Legend and Liquor: The Haunting of Lula's Pub

Lula's Pub is a downtown Wilmington bar beloved for its underground aesthetic, its low-key atmosphere and its ghost story, which tells of a former slave killed on the property who now greets guests in mirrors or dark corners. Venture down a dark, cramped hallway and into this subterranean hideaway…

A Murder Etched in Stone

Lizzie Turlington was a promising leader in North Carolina's deaf mute community in 1886 when she was murdered in the woods outside of Raleigh. The Wilmington native was shot once in the head by the man who had taken her for a leisurely ride that Friday afternoon in December – her fiancé Walter Bi…

Washington, Taft and Wilmington's Presidential Visits

In 1791, George Washington, just two years into his presidency, set out on a tour of the Southern States. Nearly 120 years later, William Howard Taft celebrated his first year in office with a tour of 33 states and territories. On each trip, the presidents took time to stop into Wilmington, where …